I've often dealt with feelings of doubt about my performance , whether its been in school, at work, volunteering, in relationships. As I'm headed down the path of self-improvement, working to gain a promotion or simply doing something new, that fear pops up. This fear that I'm bumping up against the limits of my own abilities.
This is a common headspace to be in, one that creates anxiety and is known as Impostor Syndrome. The voice inside my head may start saying things like:
■ “Who gave you permission to do that?”
■ “Do you have a the qualifications to even try?”
■ “Who said you could try to help people, you're not good enough to do that?”
If you suffer from something similar to this, your voice may be telling you something very similar, all directed towards the idea of "Am I really good enough, I'm such a fraud?!"
Moving beyond these fears takes awareness, affirmations, and challenging the belief often. Those that are naturally gifted and dedicated to our skill or talent or work, we often discount its value. Because we feel as though we haven't really tired or earned it the hard way because its something that we are passionate about.
For example, I love practicing yoga and have been practicing for 4 years, I wanted to spread the love to others so I decided to do a 200 hour yoga teacher training to help empower others. Now that I'm a teacher and have the chance to share this wonderful practice I tell myself that:
"I'm a fake"
Even though I know I have years of practice and the training to actually teach.
Here are some ways that I've found help me to practice overcoming these thoughts and feelings:
1. Stop comparing myself to others
2. Remind myself that I am a trained and/or have a skill to perform the task
3. Call out your thoughts by name "I'm experiencing Imposter Syndrome"
4. Remember that making a mistake doesn't mean you're a fake
5. Realize that when you hold yourself back you are robbing the world of the value you add
6. Find someone that you can talk to about feeling like a fraud
7. You're not gonna die from not being "perfect"
8. Keep track on the positive feedback you hear
9. Accept that you have a role in your success up to this point